Press ram lubricator



'Feb. 1, v1955 G. N. STRIKE PRESS RAM LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 23, 1954 r m n e D n 3 12 650/265 M ST/e/KE (Ittomeg Feb. 1, 1955G. N. STRIKE PRESS RAM LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, .1954

650/965 M 57'/?//( Jim Gttorneg United States Patent PRESS RAMLUBRICATOR George N. Strike, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 23, 1954, Serial No. 411,757

3 Claims. (Cl. 100-269) This invention relates to means for lubricatingthe ram of a moisture-extracting hydraulic press of the type d1sclosedin my Patent No. 2,549,344, issued April 17, 1951.

Such presses extract moisture from wet wash by squeezing the same, underextremely high pressure, between a press head and an hydraulic ram byprojecting the latter toward the former while the wet wash is interposedin the path of movement of the ram and while contained in a truck thatconveys the wet wash to such position.

The forces imposed on the ram are quite great in order to obtainsatisfactory moisture extraction. Since such wash is deposited in thetruck in a more or less haphazard manner, being dumped from washingdrums into the truck in a tumbled condition, said wash, with respect toits mass, is not evenly distributed in the truck. Therefore, there areforces acting on the ram that seek to deflect the same as the ramprojection increases. Such deflection results in binding of the ram inthe packing bearing through which the same moves and on the side Wherethe deflection occurs. This compression of the packing bearing, on oneside, results in such loosening of the bearing on the opposite side thatmuch hydraulic fluid is lost when such ram deflection occurs.

In order to prevent or, at least, minimize such hydr-aulic fluid lossand simultaneously lubricate the ram bearing to ease its operation, itis an object of the present invention to provide means automaticallyoperable, durving each stroke of the ram, to provide lubricant underpressure above the bearing to interpose a liquid seal between the ramand bearing that counteracts outward seepage of hydraulic fluid pastsaid heating.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel packingconstruction for an hydraulic ram and which embodies a chamber orreservoir for lubricant retained under such pressure and applying suchlarge amounts of lubricant to the bearing packing that leakage therepastis greatly minimized.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that arepositive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a workingposition and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture,relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcombinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear inthe course of the following description. However, the drawings merelyshow and the following description merely describes, one embodiment ofthe present invention, which is given by way of illustration or exampleonly.

In the drawings, like reference characters design-ate similar parts inthe several views.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of amoisture-extracting hydraulic press provided with ram lubricating meansaccording to the present invention, the lower end of the ram andcylinder of said press being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the upper end of said press as seenfrom the right side of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view, with the parts in another position.

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary plan sectional view of the ramof said press and the bearing through which the same operates.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken on line 5-5 ofFig. 4.

The press that is illustrated comprises an hydraulic cylinder that isdisposed in a pit 11 and in which is ice operable a ram 12. Saidcylinder is supported on a ledge 13 of said pit by a plate 14 through acentral hole of which said cylinder downwardly extends. An enlargement15 of the cylinder provides an annular shoulder supported on plate 14.

The press further includes a head 16 that is spaced and supported fromplate 14 by corner posts 17a. The upper end of the ram 12 is providedwith a platen 17 that, in its retracted position, as shown in Fig. 1, issubstantially aligned with the floor 18 in which the pit 11 is formed.Surrounding said platen there is provided a platform 19 normally levelwith the platen and onto which a wet wash-containing truck 20* isadapted to be moved into position between said platen and the ram head16, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The platform 19 is suspended from a yoke 21 disposed above the presshead 16, by means of suspenders 22, and is movable in a direction towardsaid press head by projection of the stem 23 of an air cylinder 24, orlike device, mounted on the press head.

The means for projecting ram 12 and moving plat form 19 toward presshead 16 are not shown, since the same are not necessary to understandingof the present invention. It is to be understood that. platform 19 liftstruck 20 so that the top edge of said truck is brought into engagementwith the press head and that the lift of said platform results fromextension of stem 23 and upward projection of yoke 21. It is to befurther understood that the truck 20 has an upwardly movable bottom thatis engaged by the ram platen 17 when the ram is projected and that thewet wash in the truck is compressed between said truck bottom and thepress head while the truck is held in the mentioned lifted or raisedposition against the press head. After moisture extraction, as above,the ram and platform are both lowered. Thus, in the normal operation ofthe press, yoke 21 moves up and then down each time amoisture-extracting operation is performed by the press.

According to the invention, the raising and lowering of yoke 21 isutilized to operate a lubricator 25, mounted on the press head, by means26 and said lubricator, through a plurality of conduits 27, supplieslubricant to a guide bearing 28 carried by the cylinder 10 and whichguides ram 12 in its movement as above indicated.

The lubricator 25 comprises any suit-able device that has a body 29 thatreceives a continuous supply of lubricant through a pipe 30 and isadapted to force the lubricant into conduits 27 upon inward projectionof a reciprocative plunger 31 or by a comparable member.

The means 26 interconnects said plunger 31 and yoke 21 and is shown ascomprising a lever 32 pivotally mounted on a bracket 33 and having onearm thereof connected to plunger 31. The other arm of said lever isshown slotted and engaged by a pin 34 on a bracket 35 aflixed to yoke21. The lever 32 is disposed at such an angle that the same isoscillated as yoke 21 is moved up and down, causing reciprocation ofplunger 31 and, therefore, displacement of lubricant from body 29 intoconduits 27 each time said plunger is inwardly projected. The means 26is arranged to cause said lubricant feed on the up stroke of yoke 21.

The guide bearing 28 comprises ring packing 36 disposed in an annularcavity 37 formed in the enlarged end 15 of cylinder 10. A gland 38overlies said end 15 and is provided with a down-reaching annular flange39 in compression engagement with packing 36. An annular sealing strip40, carried by the inner face of said gland, is in wiping engagementwith the outer face of the ram 12 in spaced relation above where packing36 engages said ram. The usual studs 41 and nuts 42 are used to engagethe gland and cylinder end 15 and to exert pressure on the former tobring flange 39 into compressive engagement with packing 36.

An annular chamber 43 is formed between said gland 38 and cylinder end15 by an annular compressible ring 44 concentric with and outward offlange 39 of said gland. Said ring is in compression so as toeffectively seal the chamber 43, but the same cannot be undulycompressed because of the provision of shims or spacers 45 interposedbetween the gland and cylinder end.

The conduits 27, of which there may be four, or as many as necessary tosupply chamber 43, are connected to gland 38 and enter said chamber.Gland flange 39 is provided with a series of circumferentially spacedports 46 that communicate chamber 43 and an inner annular groove 47 insaid flange. Consequently, lubricant supplied to chamber 43 by conduits27 is brought into contact with ram 12 between packing 36 and sealingstrip 40 by ports 46 and groove 47 and, being under pressure by thepositive force produced by lubricator plunger 31, efiects a seal betweenthe gland and the ram that greatly minimizes leakage of hydraulic fluidupwardly past packing 36. The seal 40, however, is not sufficientlytight to break lines 27. There is some seepage past ring 40. Moreover,the ram bearing receives lubricant when it is most needed, at the timethat the ram is being projected.

To supplement seal 40, an annular rubber member 48 is tightly placedaround the ram above the gland 38, the same being spring-urged towardthe gland by leaf springs 49 fastened to studs 41 and pressing on anannular angle member 50 encircling rubber member 48. The sealing strip40 and the ring 44 tend to retain lubricant in the bearing. Seepage ofoil past the strip 40, mentioned above, is caught within the cuppedspace between the annular member 48 and the ram 12 (see Fig. The member48, the strip 40 and the ring 44 together perform the additionalfunction of preventing water from coming in contact with the bearing.Since the compressed wet wash releases large quantities of water, themembers 40, 44 and 48 are quite valuable to the mechanism.

While I have illustrated and described what I now contemplate to be thebest mode of carrying out my invention, the construction is, of course,subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. It is, therefore, not desired to restrict the inventionto the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but tocover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim and desire to besecured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a press having a cylinder and a ram hydraulically projected fromone end of said cylinder, there being ring packing in a seat in saidcylinder end in sealing engagement between the same and the ram and agland engaged with said packing to compress the same into such sealingengagement, said gland having a portion spaced from said cylinder end toform an annular chamber, said press having a platform movable in thedirection of ram projection, the combination of an annular memberinterposed between the gland and said cylinder end and closing saidannular chamber, the gland being provided with ports communicating saidchamber and the inner face of the gland, a lubricator, common means tomove said platform in said direction and simultaneously operate saidlubricator, and conduits to convey lubricant discharged by thelubricator into said chamber.

2. In the combination of claim 1: said common means comprising a yokemember connected to said platform and means to move said yoke member tomove said platform, and an operating connection between said yoke andthe lubricator.

3. In a press having a cylinder and a ram hydraulically projected fromone end of the cylinder, there being a ring packing in a seat in saidcylinder end in sealing engagement between the same and the ram and agland engaged with said packing to compress the same into such sealingengagement, the gland having a portion spaced from the end of thecylinder to provide an annular chamber between the gland and thecylinder, the improvement that comprises, in combination, a compressibleannular member interposed between said spaced gland portion and saidcylinder end and closing said annular chamber, spacer means alsointerposed between said spaced gland portion and said cylinder end andoutward of the annular member to limit compression of the latter, thegland being provided with ports communicating said chamber and the innerface of the gland, a lubricator having an inlet for lubricant, outletconduits for said lubricant from said lubricator connected to the glandand entering the mentioned chamber, and means to operate said lubricatorto force lubricant through said conduits into said chamber duringprojection movement of the ram.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS889,740 Young June 2, 1908 2,183,983 Bostwick Dec. 19, 1939 2,348,004Gruetjen May 2, 1944 2,367,009 Davis Jan. 2, 1945 2,549,344 Strike Apr.17, 1951

